MATC unites under a new five-year strategic plan
Students talking with each other at an event.
Together, Milwaukee Area Technical College can soar. Together, MATC can help students succeed, strengthen the college’s connection to the community and recognize the outstanding work of its faculty and staff. That’s the mission outlined in the college’s five-year strategic plan called Ascend Together, approved by the MATC District Board last spring. The plan was shaped by voices reflecting deep engagement at every level including more than 500 MATC employees, 300 students and nearly 100 community members who participated in roundtable sessions hosted by MATC President Dr. Anthony Cruz. “The name underscores how this plan will serve as our guide to building a shared, focused future for an MATC that achieves at even higher levels,” Dr. Cruz said. Ascend Together has three strategic priorities, each supported with three objectives. “This approach allows us to give greater attention to what is going to be most important for us moving forward,” Dr. Cruz said. The three priorities are to build community trust, foster a caring culture at the college and ensure student success.
Community trust
“Community trust means showing up for Milwaukee — not just talking the talk, but walking the walk. We must be visible, credible and accountable to the people we serve,” Dr. Cruz said. MATC has been a visible, vital part of the community in the past year. The college has hosted early voting in elections, trained frontline workers, partnered with Milwaukee Public Schools, offered high school completion courses and supported Juneteenth celebrations. Last September, the college took that engagement a step further by hosting listening sessions called Community Connections at each campus and Walker’s Square. Residents were invited to hear about the college’s signature programs, celebrate its successes and share their feedback for Improvement. “This is a great idea,” said Henry Bruno, a relationship banker at BMO who attended the session at the Oak Creek Campus. Bruno was an MATC student before transferring to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. “You can’t know enough about what is happening in your community. I believe it’s important to feel like you’re being seen, being heard, being appreciated and being served.”
Caring culture
Under Ascend Together, that appreciation is also focused inward and extended to the college’s faculty, staff and students. “A caring culture means that everyone — students, faculty, staff — feels seen, heard and valued,” Dr. Cruz said. “That we celebrate your wins, lift you when you fall and never forget that empathy is the foundation of excellence.” The college has numerous recognition programs for employees, including Emerging Leaders, a yearlong program that prepares full-time staff to be supervisors and managers. And, most recently that caring culture inspired MATC to organize a college wide food drive to benefit students who lost their SNAP benefits in November due to the U.S. government shutdown.
Student success
And having inspired leaders will help all MATC students succeed. “Student success is the whole reason we exist,” Dr. Cruz said. “We are here Mariel Farina, born and raised in Argentina, certainly had her life transformed at MATC. In the spring of 2025, Farina, who came to the United States in 2020 to work as an au pair, graduated from the college with an Accounting associate degree. “I always liked accounting, but when I got to MATC, my instructors helped turn it into a passion,” she said. “They had such a passion for teaching me that it made me realize what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.” to help students complete, to transfer, to skill up, to find purpose and to transform their lives.” Mariel Farina, born and raised in Argentina, certainly had her life transformed at MATC. In the spring of 2025, Farina, who came to the United States in 2020 to work as an au pair, graduated from the college with an Accounting associate degree. “I always liked accounting, but when I got to MATC, my instructors helped turn it into a passion,” she said. “They had such a passion for teaching me that it made me realize what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.”
